Button-setting machine



A F. COOK AND L. R. REED.. BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.20, 1917. I 1,37%,86Q. Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

8 SHEEIS--SHEET minimum 'awvenio S A. F. COOK AND L. R. REED BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.20,1917. 1,37%, PatentedApr. 12, 1921.

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A. F. COOK AND L. R. REED. BUTTON SEWING (MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUGIZO, 1917. jg g'yzg ggfl Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

8 SHEETS-SHEEI 3- ,amimwtozs A. F. COOK AND L. R. REED.

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-2011917.

Patenised Apr.. 12, 1921 8 SHEETS-SHEET 4- ummu I MI

A F, COOK AND L, R. REED.

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AIJG=20. 1917.

Patent/ed; Apr. 12, 1921 8 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

A. F COOK AND L. B. EH51 BUTTON SETTING MACHHEE.

APILICATEOH FILED AUG-2m 1917.

fltto'unw E Ann F w ONIO.

0T C A Tm m A Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

A. F. COOK AND L. R. REED.

nuno'n 35mm; MACHINE.

APPLICAHON FILED AUG-20, I911- Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

8 SHEETS-SHEET B. I

ADELBERT F. 000K AND LLOYD R. REED, OF URBANA,

MARVIN MANUFACTURING CQMPAI-I'Z,

OHIO.

OHIO, .Assrenons TO THE w. B. on panama, OHIO, a CORPORATION OF BUTTON-SETTING MACHINE.

Application filed August 20, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that-we AnnLnni-ir F. Coon and LLoYn R. REED, citizais of the United States, residing at Urbana, in the county of Champaign and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Button-Setting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for setting buttons on shoes.

An object the invention is to simplify the construction of machines of the character referred to and make the same more effective in operation.

A further object oi? the invention is to improve the arrangement and construction of the chutes or raceways which convey the buttons the hopper to the stapling mechanism whereby the machine may be quickly and easily adapted for setting odd sized buttons without removing any of the parts. i

A furtherobject of the invention is to improve the button and wire feeding devices to provide an arrangement whereby the button will be fed to the stapling mechanism and the wire threaded therethrough upon the initial movement of the main operating device to obviate the necessity of removing a button and the wire which has been threaded thereto in the event that it is desired to adjust the machine for the purpose of set ting special sized buttons.

it. turthcr object of the invention is to provide an. arrangement to reduce the power necessary to operate the mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to improve the cutout devices for the wire feed.

In the accompanyinp drawings Figure 1 is a side el ation of a machine embodying my improvements shown mount ed upon the supportinfi' pedestal.

Fig 2 a trout elevation of the machine.

3 is a side elevation with one-half of the hopper removed.

l a. detail of a portion oi' the agitati g and teed wheel. I

Fig.5. 5 is a detail section of a portion of the feed wheel and part of the operating mechanism for the same.

Fig. 6 isan elevation of the opposite side or the machine from that shown in 8.

Fig. T is a detail showing the kick-out for the buttons.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

Serial No. 187,170.

Big. 8 is a top plan view showing the parts in normal position.

Fig 9 is also a top plan view showing the parts in position for setting odd sized buttons.

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section showing the main operating device, the normal inoperative position of the same being shown in full lines and what will be called the second position in dotted lines.

Fig. 11 is also a longitudinal section showing the same parts, the third position of the main operating device being shown in full lines and the fourth position in dotted lines.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation showing the final button teed devices.

Fig. 13 is a top plan view of the cut-out devices for the wire feec.

Fig. ii is a section of a portion of the cutout devices i the wire feed, the section being on the line l l1 l of Fig. 15.

Fig. 15 is also a section of a portion of the cut-out devices for the wire feed, the section being on the line 15-15 of Fig. 14.

Fig. 16 is also a section on the line 14-141 of Fig. 15 showing the parts in a different position.

Fig. 17 is a top plan view of the stapling mechanism and portion of the wire feeding mechanism.

18 is a top plan view of the hopper with. the lid partly open.

Fig. 19 is a detail section of a portion of the shifting devices for the raceways.

Referring to the drawings, 1) 1 represents the pedestal upon which the operating devices are supported, the upper end of the pedestal being provided with a base board 2 to which the casing 3 is secured; the casing being preferably cast in a single piece cored out to receive a portion oi the operating devices.

Hopper and feed wheel.

The hopper for the buttons is represented by 4, the hopper being preferably formed in two halves and provided with an upper hinged lid 5. The bottom of the hopper is provided with a lug 6 hinged upon the cross rod 7 (Figs. 3, 9 and 10) which extends between and is supported by the rearwardly extending ears 3 of the casing 3, the distance between the ears 3 being greater than the width of the lug 6- so cry of the hopper, the interior of thehopper being circular in form. The feed wheel is journaled upon a stud 10 which is secured to one side of the hopper, the feed wheel lying closely against that side of the hopper. The forward side of each finger 9 is grooved or cupped outas indicated at 9, the bottom of the groove being inclined inwardly toward the side of the casing.

Means are provided for imparting to this feed wheel an intermittent motion upon each operation of the machine.

As shown in Figs. 8, l, and 5, one side of the wheel proper 8 is provided with a series of recesses 11. The forward side of each recess is formed with a slightly tapered face as "shown in Fig. 5 and the bottom and rear wall of the recess with a pronounced incline. Slidably mounted in a groove l2 formed on the outside of the hopper which is closed by a plate 12, Figs. 5, 6, and 7, is a rod 13,'the upper end of which carries a small housing 1a in which is slidably mounted a pin 15, normally pressed outwardlyby the spring 16, interposed between the head of, the pin and the adjusting plug 17 in the end of the housing, the head of the pin forming a stop to limit the outward movement of the pin; this housing being provided with a reduced bore in which the pin slides and the head of the pin being adapted to abut the shoulder formed by this reduced bore in a manner which will be clear, as shownin detail in Fig. 5. The lower end of this sliding rod 13 is provided with a cam roll 18 (Figs. 10 and 11) which rides in a camway .19 of a main operating lever 20, which lever will be referred to more in detail hereinafter, it being sulficient to state here that when this lever is operated the sliding rod 13 will be thrown upwardly so as to impart a partial revo- I lution to the feed wheel. by reason of the inclined groove 22 (see also 3).

In operationat each partial revolution of the feed wheel a quantity of buttons will be thrown'into this groove. Some of the buttons will be deposited in such a manner that their eyes will enter the groove and thus retain the buttons on the downwardlyinclined off-set portion of the hopper, while the balance of the buttons will again fall back into the bottom of the hopper; these buttons being directed to the side and bottom of the hopper by a. guide or guard 23 (Figs. 3, 7 and 18), the guard extending diagonally across the lower end of the groove 22 andbeing secured to the lid of the hopper so that when the lid is raised free access may be had to thelower end of the groove for the purpose of removing any buttons which may have become clogged therein; the guard being positioned suffi-.

ciently above the grooveway to allow the passage of any buttons whose eyelets have become properly lodged in the groove, but obstructing the passage of all other buttons.

As an additional safeguard to prevent the buttons from clogging in the event that a button should become lodged against the guard 23 in such a way as to prevent its falling back into the hopper, l have pro vided a kick-off (Figs. 3, 6 and 7). This kick-off is in the nature of an arm 24 pivoted on the stud 23 secured to the side of the hopper, the free end of the arm has an upwardly projecting finger 26 and the opposite end thereof a downwardly extending tail 2? having 28. A spring 29 coiled about and secured to the stud 25 and having its free end bearing against the small lug on the arm, normally tends to project-the finger 26 up through the slot 22 just in front of the guard 23, as shown in Figs. 2 and 7. The finger 28 normally lies against the edge of the operating rod .13, so as to hold the finger 26 in retracted position. as ind in Fig. 6, but as the rod 13 is operated the finger 28 will ride into a recess 13 in the allowing the spring 29 to project the 26 up through the open slot and kick off any button which has become lodged in front of the s iield This operation ta place not only upon the rip-stroke of the operating rod but also on the return thereof to normal position.

Button 072M665 mid skiff-my var/mus therefor.

with a grooveway 35 to receive buttons of ited larger size, commonly known as odd buttons, the cover 33 being), of larger dimension than the one 32. In the construction shown, for manufacturing purposes each or": the covers it at its lower end shaped to form a floor 32 and $33, these floors coinciding with the upper surface of the raceway so as to form a continuation thereof and being provided with grooves 32* and 33" which coincide with and form a continuation of the grooves in the raceway proper the lower ends of the covers above the floors being cut away as indicated at 82 and 33. Each of the covers has secured thereto a double-pronge-il spring tongue 3? the lower free ends of which project into the cut-away portions of the covers and extend to a point near the floor thereof so as to act as resilient retaining devices for the buttons, from beneath which the buttons are fed one by one in the manner hereinafter to be described.

That portion of the raceway beneath the cover 32 is the one employed for conveying the buttons from the hopper, the buttons placed in the hopper being the ones which are most commonly used. When it is desired to set the odd sized buttons with which that portion of the raceway beneath the cover 38 is equipped, provision is made for moving the raceway laterally so as to bring the odd buttons in position to be threaded and set by the stapling mechanism in the following manner.

It has heretofore been explained that the rear part of the hopper is hinged on the transversely extending rod 7 in such a way that it can be moved laterally thereon well as swung rearwardly. llotatably mounted in laterelly-extendingbrackets 37 and 38 (Figs. 6, 8 and 9) secured to the main casing is an operating member consisting of a shaft 39 and a crank member 12, the rear end of which has an operating crank arm 1O and the forward end a crank arm 11. ()ne portion of the part- 412 is in the nature of a disk 13 having a forwardly extending eccentric pin 414 (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6). Proecting laterally from the side of the hopper at the rear end thereof is an arm 47, the outer end of which is turned downwardly, as iiudicated at 17, and has on the rear side thereof a groove 17" (shown in dot-ted lines in Fig. 6) into which the pin extends. Extending laterally from the raceway an arm 41-8, the outer end of which carries a spring-press d pin d9 19 for detail) provided with a finger piece 419, the pin being normally pressed into a recess 50 in the crank arm 11 by the spring 49*; the recess being in line with the pin 14 on the disk 1-3, As a result of this construction, when the member and shaft 39 are rotated'by the crank arm 40, the eccentric wrist pin 14:, acting in the slot 47" of the arm 4E7, throws the hopper and raceways laterally so as to bring the odd button raceway in proper working relation with the stapling devices, while the crank arm ll, by reason of its connection with the raceways through the spring-pressed pin 49 and arm 18, raises the raceways upwardly so as to clear the eyes of: the buttons in the raceway from the grooves; the mechanism being so timed that when the hopper and raceways have been moved laterally to the proper distance the crank arm will allow the raceways to drop back to proper working position and bring the eyes of the odd buttons in proper position to be acted upon by the stapling mechanism. This operation throws out of commission the feed and agitating wheel in the hopper by reason of the fact that the cam roller 18 is moved laterally out of the groove- 19 of the main operating lever.

By reason of the connection described bet veen the arm 48 with the crank arm 41, the raceways and hopper may be tilted rearwa rdly by withdrawing the pin from the recess in the crank arm for the purposes of emptying the hopper or the racevays, and upon swinging the hopper back to normal position the pin 49 automatically enters the recess in the crank arm 4E1, to lock the hopper in position, the crank arm having an inclined face 11 leading to the recess, (Figs. 6 and 8).

Final button feed.

It has been explained that after the buttons have passed down the raceway from the hopper they are retained by the spring tongues 36 at the lower end of the raceway. The spring tongues are so located as to retain the lowermost button out of the path of travel of the wire. The first step upon the operation of the machine then is to feed a button in position to be threaded by the wire which forms the staple, this being accomplished as follows:

Formed in the wall of the casing 3 is a downwardly inclined groveway 51 (Figs. 3 and 12). Slidably mounted in the groovoway 51 is a carriage 52 having at each end thereof a laterally projecting bracket 53 and also having secured to the lower edge thereof a plate 54 which projects into the interior of the casing. Formed in the plate 54: is a vertically-extending slot 55 into which extends a straight faced stud 56 having a round pin 57 which is driven into the main operating lever 20 at the point shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. Leading from the upper end of the slot 55 is a slot 58 which is concentric to the pivotal point 59 of the main operating lever 20. As a result of the construction as thus far described, upon the initial movement of the main operating lever 20 the stud 56 will throw the carriage 52 downwardly in the groove 51 and at the proper time will ride into the concentric groove 58 so as to allow the main operating 1 lever an additional movement independent of the carriage to perform further functions to be described. Rotatably mounted in the brackets 53 of the carriage is a shaft (Figs. 2, 3, 8, 9 and 12) to the forward end of which is attached a finger 61 which extends laterally to a point to bring its downturned end 61 in a position to engage the lowermost button of the raceway; the finger 61 being normally spring-pressed to engaging position by a spring 62 coiled about the shaft with one end thereof attached to the shaft and the other end engaged with one of the brackets 53. In the normal inoperative position of the machine,

the finger 61 is held out of engaging position by a stationary projection 63 attached to the main casing, the shaft 60 having for this purpose a bent end 60 having a shoulder 60 which engages the nose of the projection. Inorder to throw the shaft 60 in proper position to cause its bent end 6O to engage the projection 63, there is provided at the side of the projection a pivoted lever 64 having a shoulder 64%, the lever being provided with a spring 65 which tends to hold it in position to bring its shoulder into the path of the bent portion 60 of the shaft when the parts are being returned to normal position, which return movement is accomplished by a spring associated with the foot lever hereinafter to be described. As the parts return to normal position, the stud 56, striking the wall of the plate 54: at the rear end of the slot 58 throws the carriage 52 rearwardly and causes the bent end of the shaft to engage the shoulder 64" which pushes the lever 6 1 upwardly about its pivotal point and hence turns the shaft 60 against the tension of the spring 62 until the bent end of the shaft rides off of the shoulder of the lever, at which time it will be in a position to be engaged by the nose of the projection 63.

It should be explained that upon the initial movement of the main operating lever the bent end of the shaft 60 will ride off the nose of the holding projection, the spring 60 will throw the bent end 61 of the finger 60 on top of the lowermost button in the chute and that the further travel of the carriage downwardly in the grooveway 51 will carry the button to proper position to receive the wire from the wire feeding devices now to be described.

Wire feeding ale vices.

.Pivoted to a block 66 projecting laterally lease it on the back stroke in a well known way. The wire feeding operation immedlately follows the final button feeding op.- eration just described and to accomplish this the arm is swung laterally toward the button to thread the wire through the eye of the button in the following manner. Projecting downwardly from the lower side of the arm 67 near the pivotal point thereof is a spring-pressed pin 70, the spring being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 14:. Projecting laterally from the main operating lever is a block 71 having on the outer edge thereof an upwardly projecting wall 7 2 the inner face of which is provided with a cam surface 73. The wall 72 near its rear end is inclined downwardly as shown in Figs. 6, 14 and 16 and opposite this downwardly inclined part of the wall is, an upwardly proj ecting cam 74; As a result of this construction, when the main operating lever is thrown forwardly the cam surface 73, contacting the pin 70, moves the arm 67 laterally so as to feed the wire through the eye of the button which has been placed in proper position by the initial operation of the main operating lever. Upon further movement of the main operating lever the pin will contact the cam surface/Z 1 so as to throw the arm 67 back to its original position, which will, by reason of the downward inclination of the wall 72, bring the lower end of the pin above the wall so that when the main operating lever returns to its normal position the pin will ride over that part of the wall in line with the cam surface 73, the pin yielding against the tension of its spring for this purpose, and will again drop into its proper normal position to'be again acted upon by the cam 7 3 upon the next operation of the machine. It should be explained that while the pin is traveling upon the inner surface of the wall between the cam surface 73 and the cam surface 7 4, the severing of the wire is being 110 accomplished, this severing operation being described hereinafter.

Out out for wire feed.

In the event that a button is not in position to be fed upon the initial operation of the machine, or in the event that the button feed finger fails to feed a button, it is desirable that the wire feeding mechanism be thrown out of operation to prevent waste of wire and also clogging of the stapling mechanism. This is accomplished as follows: Upon the initial operation of the ma chine, it will be remembered that the shaft 60 is released and the finger 61 operated to cause itsend 61 to rest on top of a button which, of course, arrests the rotary movement of the shaft 60. Now, in the event that no button should be in the chute or the raceway, it will be seen that the shaft 60 will be allowed a further rotary movement, which causes the bent end 60 thereof to strike the projecting finger '75 of a pivoted frame 76 supported on the top of the main casing (Figs. 2, 6, 9 and 13) thus rocking the frame. The opposite end of the frame has a downwardly projecting arm 77, (see also Figs. 14 and 16) the lower end of which will strike a pivoted lever 78, one end of which. is bent laterally as indicated at 78, so as to'bring this part 78 in close proximity to the lower end of the pin 70, as shown in Fig. 16, the normal position of the parts being shown in Fig. 1 1. Projecting inwardly from the wall 72 of the block 71 is a cam 79, the pin normally lying out of the path of movement of this cam as the operating lever is moved. "When the part 78 however, is interposed between the pin and the cam, the cam will throw the pin 70 upwardly against the tension of its spring and thus cause itto ride over the wall 72 instead of about the cam 73 with the result that the wire feeding arm 67 will not be operated. I

Staple forming mechanism, (Figs. 10, 11 and 17).

In the normal inoperative position of the mechanism, the wire which is fed by the feeding arm 6'? normally lies in a perforation in the portion 3 of the main casing and in a perforatioi'i formed in a shearing die 80 secured to the main casing, the end of the wire being flush with the inner side of the shearing die. Upon the feeding stroke of the arm 67 the wire will be projected across the stapling mechanism now to be described and through the eye of the button which has been fed to proper position by the finger 61 previously described. Slldably mounted in a grooveway 81 formed in the top of the main casing is a plimger 82, the lower half of which is reduced in width and slides between the shearing die 80 and a stop block o3 secured to the main casing. So soon as the wire has been fed to its proper position this plunger 82 is moved downwardly by the main operating lever Secured to the top of the operating lever 20 by dowel pins 84 is a hardened steel plate 853, the rear upper edge thereofhaving an upwardly and forwardly extending nger 86 which contacts the rear side p1: a downwardly projecting portion 8% of the plunger 82 so as to move the plunger downwardly. The forward edge of the plunger 82, coacting with the shearing die 80, severe the wire and further movement of the plunger 82 bends the wire about a former 87, which is in the nature of an extension projecting upwardly from a pivoted lever 88, pivoted at 89 to the mam casing 3; the former being held in its proper operative position at this time by a beveled stud 90 on the main operating lever, this being accomplished by the fact that one of the beveled surfaces of the stud rides along the edge 88 of a tail 88 projecting from the lever 88, the edge of the tail being formed on the arc of a circle which is concentric to the pivot 59 of the main operating lever. The plunger 82 it will be seen is provided with a centrally arranged slot 91 which embraces the former 87 and the walls of this slot are provided with grooves 92 (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 17 and also in Fig. 10) to receive the wire. Further movement of the operating lever causes the tail 88" of the lever 88 to ride off of the beveled stud 90, permitting the forming lever 88 to drop to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 11, the oppositebeveled surface of the stud 90 riding along the forward edge 880 of the lever 88. It should be explained that that portion of the shoe to which the button is to be set is laid against the inner edge of an anvil 93 of hardened steel which is carried by a projection 94: preferably formed integral with the main casing. So soon as the plunger 82 has been projected to the proper distance to form the staple, the finger 86 will ride off of the rear end of the projection 82 of the plunger and contact the inner wall 95 of a groove formed in a block 96, which is slidably mounted upon two pins 97 carried by and projecting rearwardly from the plunger 82, coil springs 98 being interposed between the plunger 82 and the block 96. Further movement of the main operating lever, then, will carry the plunger downwardly against the shoe with a yielding pressure so as to hold the shoe firmly against the anvil 93 and at the same time carries the staple and button down to proper position to be operated upon by the driver which forces the staple through the material of the shoe and clenches it. This driver is in the nature of an arm 99 projecting upwardly and forwardly from the plate 85, the upper edge thereof being formed with a flaring centrally-arranged groove 100 (Fig. 17) and the side thereof with. projections 101 which enter the grooveways 92 in the plunger. Further movement of the main operating lever causes this driver to engage the staple, with the groove 100 straddling the eye of the button, and drive the staple through the material of the shoe, the free ends of the staple entering a cross-cut or groove in the anvil so as to bend the same inwardly to properly clench the staple. The stapling mechanism is covered by a plate 105, as shown in Figs. 2, 8, and 9, formed with a slot 107 to expose the lower portion of the stapling devices so as to allow the buttons from the chutes to be fed thereto; the plate having grooves 108 leading to the slotted portion to accommodate the eyes of the buttons in the chutes. The plate may also have an extension 106 to retain the forward end of the feed lever on its support from the main casing.

The main operating lever is manipulated by a foot lever 102 (Fig. 1) pivoted at the lower end of the pedestal 1 and hinged to the projecting arm 20 of the main operating lever by a rod 103, a coil spring 104:, one end of which is connected to the foot lever and the other end to the pedestal, serving to re turn the parts to normal position. So soon as pressure is released from the foot lever, the main operating lever 20 will be caused to move back to normal position. The stud 90, moving down the surface 88 of the forming lever, forces the same upwardly to its normal forming position. The driving arm 99 of the plate 85, contacting the block 82 forces it back to its normal position, the finger 86 leaving the wall 95 of the auxiliary block 96 and assuming its original position back of the projection 82; the final button feed is returned to its normal position in the manner previously described; the feed arm 67 has already been returned to its normal position prior to the clenching operation, and in this connection it should be stated that a pivoted spring-pressed holding pawl 109 (Fig. 17) is provided to retain the wire in the block 3 and die 80 in proper position during the return movement of the feeding lever. The reverse stroke of the main operating lever also returns the operating rod 13 for the feed wheel in the hopper to its normal position by reason of the camway 19 previously described.

By the constructions described it will be seen that by the arrangement of the double raceways or chutes, the machine may be readily altered for the purpose of setting odd sized buttons without the necessity of removing any of the parts by simply manipulating the crank arm to throw the chutes and hopper laterally from one posi' tion to another. It will also be seen that the raceways and hopper may be readily tilted .rearwardly to remove the buttons from the hopper and chutes and that it will become automatically locked when thrown back to normal position. By the arrangement described, whereby the entire operation of setting the button is performed upon the down stroke of the foot lever, an improved arrangement is provided which will obviate the necessity of removing a button and staple from the machine in the event that it is desired to change from one chute to another, as is the case with those machines which feed and thread a button upon the returnmovement of the operating devices to normal position. Further, the arrangement whereby all of the operating devices are operated by the down stroke of the foot lever provides for less power to manipulate the devices by reason of the fact that a lighter spring may be employed to return the parts to normal position than would be the case if it was necessary to rely upon the spring to perform certain of the operations, such as the feeding of the buttons and wire.

Having thus described our invention, we claim 1 1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable hopper, stapling mechanism, a plurality of associated raceways movable with said hopper one of which is normally in communication with the interior of said hopper, with all of said raceways extending to said stapling mechanism, means for shifting said hopper and raceways to bring one of said raceways in proper feeding relation to said stapling mechanism, and means for feeding a button and length of wire to said stapling mechanism upon the initial movement of the machine whereby in the inoperative condition of said machine said stapling mechanism is free from a button and its wire.

' 2. In a machine of the character described, a movable hopper, a plurality of racewaysmovable with said hopper, one of said raceways being in communication with the interior of saidhopper, stapling mechanlsm to whlch said raceways extend, and

means for moving said hopper and raceways 9..)

laterally and also. for raising said raceways above said stapling mechanism during such movement to bring one or the other of said raceways in proper feeding relation to said mechanism.

3. In a machine of the character described, a hinged hopper capable of lateral movement, a plurality of raceways connected with said hopper to partake of its movement, one of said raceways being in communication with the interior of said hopper, stapling mechanism to which said raceways extend, and means for moving said hopper and raceways laterally and also swinging said hopper about its hinge to enable the raveways to clear the stapling mechanism during such lateral movement for the purpose of bringing either one or the other of said raceways in feeding relation with said stapling mechanism.

a. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable hopper, stapling mechanism, a plurality of raceways movable with said hopper with one of the raceways in communication with the interior of said hopper and both raceways eX-' tending to said stapling mechanism, means for moving said hopper and raceways laterally to bring one of said raceways in proper feeding relation to said stapling mechanism. and means for feeding a button and length of wire to said stapling mechanism upon the inltial operation of the machine whereby said stapling mechanism will normally be free from a button and its staple wire 5. In a machine of the character described, a movable hopper, a pair of raceways movable with said hopper, one of said raceways being in communication with the interior of said hopper, stapling mechanism to which said raceways extend, and means for moving said hopper and raceways laterally and also for raising said raceways above said stapling mechanism during such movement to bring one or the other of said raceways in proper feeding relation to said mechanism, and means for feeding a button and length of wire to said stapling mechanism upon the initial operation of the machine whereby said stapling mechanism will normally be free from a button and its staple wire to permit shifting of the raceways from one position to another.

6. In a machine of the character described, a hinged hopper capable of lateral movement, a pair of raceways connected with said hopper to partake of its movement, one of said raceways being in communication with the interior of said hopper, stapling mechanism to which said raceways extend, means for moving said hopper and raceways laterally and also swinging said hopper about its hinge to enable the raceways to clear the stapling mechanism during such lateral. movement for the purpose of bringing either one or the other of said raceways in feeding relation with said stapling mechanism, and means for feeding a button and length of wire to said stapling mechanism upon the initial operation of the machine whereby said stapling mechanism will normally be free from a button and its staple wire to permit shifting of the raceways from one position to another.

7. In a machine of the character de scribed, a hopper hinged to swing upwardly and capable of lateral movement upon its hinge, a plurality of raceways connected with said hopper, a stapling mechanism to which said raceways lead, and a rotatable shifting device comprising means for shifting said hopper and raceways laterally and also for swinging the same about the hinge of said hopper to clear the lower end of the raceways from said stapling mechanism during the shifting movement.

8. In a machine of the character described, a hopper hinged to swing upwardly and also capable of lateral movement upon its hinge, a plurality of raceways connected with said hopper, a stapling mechanism to which said raceways lead, and a rotatable shifting device for said hopper and raceways comprising an ececentric and crank arm for imparting a lateral and upwardly swinging movement to said hopper and raceways.

9. In a machine of the character described, a main operating device, wire feeding devices, and button feeding devices, said button feeding devices comprising a rotatable spring-pressed shaft, a button engaging member arranged to engage the top of a button, a detent for said shaft, and connections operated by said shaft whereby an ab normal movement of said shaft to button engaging position throws said wire feeding devices out of operation.

10. In a machine of the character referred to, button feeding devices, wire feeding devices, said wire feeding devices comprising a movable arm having a spring-pressed operating pin together with means for engaging said pin to swing said arm, and means operated by an abnormal movement of said button feeding devices for throwing said pin out of operative position.

11. In a machine of the character described, button feeding devices, wire feeding devices, said wire feeding devices comprising a movable arm having a springpressed operating pin, a cam for engaging said pin to swing said arm, and means operated by an abnormal movement of said button feeding devices for throwing said pin pin out of the path of said cam.

12. In a machine of'the character described, wire feeding devices comprising a movable arm, a spring-pressed pin carried by said arm, a main operating device, a pair of cams operated by said device, one cam for throwing said arm to feeding position and the other cam for returning said arm to nor mal position, and an inclined track for said pin movable with said main operating device upon the return of the parts to normal position.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 14th day of August, 1917.

ADELBERT F. COOK. LLOYD R. REE-D.

W'itnesses:

H. W. HOUSTON, Ross WARNooK. 

